


Burning Moon

by cycling_lane



Category: Black Sails
Genre: F/M, Romance, but not graphic, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 06:58:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11179476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cycling_lane/pseuds/cycling_lane
Summary: Abigail’s mouth opened and closed helplessly. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. Not a single word or explanation came to her frightened brain. ‘I just… I’m-’She turned her head to give the stranger an apologetic look, but couldn’t make out his face in the dark. Her own was lit by the fire.Immediately, she heard him suck in a deep breath.‘Abigail? Abigail Ashe?’When Abigail Ashe returns to Nassau, she runs into some trouble. Thankfully an old acquaintance is there to help her.Abigail/ Billy





	Burning Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Wow -long time no see! This was originally supposed to be the first part of a multi-chapter fic about Abigail's return to Nassau, but then life happened and I just don't have to time to finish it. 
> 
> Keeping it in a dusty folder on my computer seems a bit of a waste, though, so I decided to put it out there. Hopefully some of you will enjoy this :)

They were getting closer.

She could hear their voices in the dark, somewhere along the dunes. Men’s voices. Rough and uncultured, consisting out of a mix of accents that she’d never heard up until several years ago, when she was kidnapped by Ned Lowe. She still had nightmares about that kind of voices.

Abigail sat up. A light bobbed on a dune above her. It was moving slowly, unevenly toward her hiding place.

‘Where ar’ ya, little bird?’ The man sounded drunk, whoever he was. A pirate most likely, considering that she was in New Providence.

She heard another man stumble and crash into one of the low bushes that were scattered across the sandy hills. He cursed. ‘Are you sure she’s here?’ He asked in a heavy brogue. ‘We’ve been chasin’ the lass for far too long and I’m hungry. There’re plenty of good whores waitin’ for us at the tavern.’ 

‘She’s here,’ the first man assured him. ‘I watch’d her go into these dunes and not come out. She ain’t got nowhere to go.’ He laughed coarsely. Two others laughed with him. Three men, maybe more.

Abigail didn’t wait to find out. She snatched her heavy velvet cloak and, keeping low, began to creep away as fast as she could.

Behind her lay Nassau, but she had no intention of going back there. Not at night. She had tried to find the tavern as soon as the merchant ship that she’d arrived with had docked earlier tonight. Big mistake. She’d only made it a few hundred metres from the harbour when a dirty, unshaven man dressed in little more than rags dragged her into a narrow alley. His scent, a combination of alcohol, bile and old sweat, had made her gag. His lustful gaze had told her all she needed to know.

It was a miracle that she’d managed to escape, but he didn’t give up so easily. He had been chasing her out of Nassau and into the dunes for over an hour now, along with several of his friends.

No, she wouldn’t go back to the town. She had no choice but to make for the beach.

‘Oi! Over there!’

Oh God. They’d spotted her.

It was too late to worry about being stealthy. Abigail broke into a run, stumbling on the loose sand and weaving her way through scrubby bushes. Her skirts caught on twigs and sharp thorns, but she pushed on. The fabric ripped. She lost one of her shoes. Sticks and thorns now slashed freely at her legs, but she was oblivious. Behind her, men crashed through the undergrowth. They were gaining on her.

‘Argh!’ Just when she thought the situation couldn’t get any direr, Abigail tripped over a log and smashed into the ground. Pain exploded in her ankle. She lay on the sandy ground, winded, her empty lungs gasping frantically for breath that would not come.

Is this it, then? she thought. Is this the moment where these men will catch up with me and unleash themselves upon me?

She managed to spit out a mouthful of sand and pushed herself up on her knees. Air gushed back into her longs, finally enabling her to breathe again. The first thing she noticed was that her pursuers hadn’t yet closed in on her. She could see the light of their candle floating in the dunes, still quite a bit above her. What she heard, though, wasn’t their shouts and curses. Instead, her ears focused on something that she could hear in the distance, further on the beach.

Music. It was soft, but not too far away.

Surely where there was music, there were people. People who might help her. Or not.

Abigail didn’t have time to weigh the possibilities. She had to risk it. She would run, run to the music, and pray for protection. It was the only option that had any chance of saving her now.

Rapidly, she scrambled to her feet and plunged onto the open beach, down to the water’s edge where the sand was firmest. Sharp pain shot through with every step she took. She heard shouts as her pursuers once again came closer.

She doubled her efforts. Her one remaining shoe slowed her down. The soft blue satin design had been the heights of fashion in London, but all the running here in Nassau had made it chafe and blister her feet. The low heel didn’t exactly make the running easier either, especially not now that her other foot was bare. But Abigail didn’t have time to stop and take it off. She simply continued to run with a heavy limp, ignoring the way her lungs burned and her breath came in great gasps.

She rounded a small bend in the beach. Fire glowed several hundred metres in front of her, at the base of the dunes. Lungs heaving, she ran toward it. A campfire, with a cooking pot above it. Fishermen?

Please, God, Abigail thought, don’t let it be pirates.

A lone shadowed figure sat beside the fire, playing music; a Spanish-sounding guitar melody that halted and fumbled every few chords, like the player didn’t quite know what he was doing. The heavy clouds in the sky broke for just a few moments and moonlight softly illumined her surroundings. Abigail’s breath caught in her throat when it reflected upon the sharp steel of a sword lying next to the stranger.

Fishermen didn’t have swords. Pirates did.

‘There she is!’ The men that were chasing her came storming around the bend. Nothing, not even a pirate as horrid as Ned Lowe could possibly be worse than what these men planned to do with her. Terror drove her forward.

‘Help me!’ She gasped raggedly as she stumbled toward the man by the fire. ‘Please- Please, help me!’

The music stopped abruptly, but the man didn’t move.

‘I beg of you… Help me,’ she gasped. The words came out no louder than a whisper, but somehow, now that she was closer, he heard her.

The man held out his hand toward her, beckoning her closer. Overhead, the clouds closed again and the beach was once more pitch black. ‘Come here.’

His voice was deep and calm and sure, and it seemed familiar somehow, although Abigail couldn’t place it. An immediate wave of relief washed over her. With the very last bit of strength that she possessed, she willed her feet to move and stumbled the last few metres toward him. He seemed solidly-built and young, and that voice, even though she didn’t know why, sounded like something from a dream. He could be no worse than those behind her, she told herself, and besides, she was too tired to flee any further.

The stranger’s features were in shadow, silhouetted against the fire. ‘Ma’am?’ he asked her.

Oh, right. He would probably want to know why she needed help.

Abigail’s mouth opened and closed helplessly. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t-’ she whispered. Not a single word or phrase came to her frightened brain. She sank down on her knees in the sand beside him, struggling to pull her wits together. ‘I just… I’m-’

She turned her head to give him an apologetic look, but couldn’t make out his face in the dark. Her own was lit by the fire.

Immediately, she heard him suck in a deep breath. ‘Abigail?’ The stranger stood abruptly, sounding like he’d just seen a ghost. ‘Abigail Ashe?’

She nodded, confused. ‘Yes. That’s me. How do you-’

Suddenly the fog in her brain lifted long enough for her to take in his build. Now that he was standing, she could see that her would-be saviour was immensely tall. She hadn’t met anyone that tall since she was sixteen years old and aboard Captain Flint’s ship, after what had seemed like a decade in Ned Lowe’s captivity. It made sense now, how familiar his voice had sounded. How it had made her feel immediately guarded and protected.

‘William Manderly,’ she breathed, stunned.

For every nightmare that she’d had about Ned Lowe, she had ten daydreams featuring this insanely tall, young man that was now standing in front of her. Even this moment felt like it couldn’t be real.

Her reverie was suddenly broken by shouts coming from behind her, and she pulled herself together. ‘Those men, they will be here any minute-’

William –no, Billy, she remembered, everyone called him Billy- looked away from her and gazed into the distance, where three silhouettes were dimly visible against the glimmer of the sea and the sky.

‘They’re after me.’

‘I’d gathered that much. But why? Did you…’ Billy trailed off, seemingly trying to find an explanation for the situation. ‘You didn’t steal anything, did you?’ Even he said it like the notion was ridiculous, but Abigail still gasped indignantly.

‘Of course not!’ She told him. ‘They want- They think- They tried to-’

His gaze ran over her, his blue eyes turning cold as she saw realisation dawning upon him. She felt a blush heat up her skin. ‘I understand,’ he finally said, his voice clipped.

Abigail hung her head, too mortified to speak. 

‘Just stay there,’ Billy ordered. ‘I’ll deal with them.’

What? No, he couldn’t possibly- ‘But there are three men! Maybe more!’

He didn’t seem impressed. ‘I can handle it.’

Abigail stared at his shadowed face, wishing that she could see him properly. She had no doubt that he was a skilled fighter, but one against three? That simply wasn’t fair.

A sudden wave of self-disgust washed over her. This man, the object of her teenage fantasies, who she hadn’t seen in years, who she’d never properly spoken to, was about to risk his life for her. And for what reason? She had been deemed spoiled, shamed, worthless even, by all of London society the day she was kidnapped. She herself had practically thrown away what little value her life still had left the moment she stepped on a ship to New Providence three months ago.

There really was no reason for Billy to get injured or worse so she could live. So she could get away unscathed. She was already damaged beyond repair. They should just flee, instead of staying to fight.

Abigail opened her mouth to tell him this, but was interrupted by a voice from the darkness. ‘Oi, you there!’ One of her pursuers yelled. ‘The lass is ours!’

‘Yeah!’ Another shouted. ‘Give her back an’ we won’t hurt ya.’ 

She shivered. God, what had she gotten them into?

Next to her, though, Billy appeared unfazed. ‘The lady is mine,’ he stated.

Another shiver ran through her body, this time accompanied by an outbreak of goose bumps all over her flesh. Abigail felt her heart flutter. A soft warmth spread through her lower belly.

Mentally she scolded her body for behaving this way. This wasn’t the time for her hormones to act up.

She cowered when the first man swore loudly. ‘The whore is ours,’ he spat out. ‘You can have her when we’re through with her!’

They were planning to share her? Abigail began to shake. She looked around for a weapon, a knife, or even a heavy stick, but she couldn’t see anything useful. She would have to run. Again. The burning in her lungs had eased and her breathing had almost returned to normal, but her ankle still throbbed. Covertly she toed off her remaining shoe. Injured or not, she would be faster on the sand barefoot.

Billy, whose fists had tensed at her pursuer’s last remark, looked up at the movement. ‘Stop that,’ he ordered softly. ‘You won’t need to run. You have my word that you’ll be safe.’

Abigail’s heart beat a rapid tattoo in her chest, but she still wasn’t assured. ‘Maybe we should-’

Before she could finish her suggestion that they should flee while they still could, Billy raised his voice and announced with quiet menace, ‘The lady is mine, and I don’t share. She stays with me.’ He said to Abigail in an undertone, ‘When they attack, I want you to stay here and get that long branch out of the fire. It will keep them away from you for long enough for me to defeat them.’

The men obviously weren’t happy. ‘We found her first!’ One of them shouted.

‘Then come and get her. But you’ll have to kill me first.’ To Abigail’s amazement, Billy smiled again. There was nothing gentle or humorous in it. It was purely ferocious; like a lion baring his teeth in anticipation of a fight.

Before she knew what was happening, the three men in front of them unleashed a battle cry and stormed in their direction.

‘Grab that branch and stay back,’ Billy ordered again, this time more shortly. ‘’You’ll only be in my way.’

And then he strode forward, picking up his sword as he did so, twirling the weapon as he moved, faster and faster. His ferocity and control were mesmerizing, and Abigail could do nothing but watch in awe as he met the men halfway.

She gasped when he pulled a large knife from his belt and hurled it at a shadowed figure, even as the other two jumped on him. One of them was warded off with a frightening kick. His fist smashed into the other. The third man let out a scream of pure agony as the knife embedded itself deep into his right shoulder.

The noise was enough to pull Abigail out of her daze. Ignoring her painful ankle, she hurried to the fire, selected a thick, long branch and pulled it, still burning, from the flames. Stiffening her shaking hands, she straightened herself and turned to face the fight.

She could barely see what was happening. It was all shadows and horrible sounds –the sounds of fists crunching bones, steel cutting flesh, and the deep gasps and groans of men fighting.

Amazingly, Billy seemed to be winning. Using his sword, he cut a deep slash across the biggest man’s chest, then landed a mighty blow against his jaw and kicked him into some bushes. The man screamed as he landed amidst sharp thorns.

As he wrestled with the second man, the third man crept up from behind. He had pulled the knife from his shoulder and was pointing it dangerously at Billy.

‘Behind you!’ Abigail screamed, frightened.

Billy swung around and shoved the second man at the third. There was another horrible scream as he landed onto the knife. She couldn’t see exactly where the blade had stabbed him, but she expected it to be somewhere in his right flank.

The third man cursed and let go of his weapon. Blood oozed steadily from the deep wound of his shoulder as he regarded the situation before him. ‘Keep her then, ya bastard,’ he wheezed eventually, when he realised it was hopeless. He spat in the direction of where Billy stood, panting heavily, his sword still in hand. ‘I hope she gives you the pox!’

He heaved the second man upright, mentioned for the other one to get out of the bushes and muttered under his breath as the three of them stumbled off into the darkness.

Billy waited until they had disappeared from sight, before he turned around to face her. ‘All gone,’ he said curtly.

‘A-are you sure?’ Abigail asked, refusing to lower the burning branch.

Surely it couldn’t be over. Not yet. Not that quickly. They had chased her for over an hour -Billy couldn’t possibly have fended them off in less than thirty seconds.

‘Very sure.’

The calm and reassuring way he said it was enough to completely undo her. An enormous wave of relief washed over her. Her arms, her legs -her entire body- began to tremble.

‘G-Good,’ was the last thing she managed to say, before her knees gave out and she felt herself sink to the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> So... Any good? I've got my fingers crossed to be able to finish it some time soon, but until then: I hope you liked it, lots of love and stay awesome! 
> 
> \- A
> 
> p.s. I remember that this was inspired by something (movie/ book/ fanfic???), but I can't figure out what it was. If this seemed familiar to anyone, please let me know where you've seen it before so I can pay credit!


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